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“New music is the lifeblood of anybody making music— it’s that creation, excitement, new babies [songs]! It inspires me and it inspires others,” declares Terri Nunn, the charismatic and enigmatic singer of L.A.’s iconic synth electro-pop pioneers, BERLIN. Animal, a brand-new 12-track offering, explores contemporary electronic dance music while remaining true to the groundbreaking sound and signature vocals that continue to define BERLIN. The first single, “It’s the Way”— a confessional ballad about “a fear of connection”— could easily be the group’s next “Take My Breath Away” (BERLIN’s #1 hit / Academy Award-winning single, featured in Top Gun). It’s the perfect counterpoint to the sexy, eminently danceable title track (“So kiss me when you pull my hair / I like it when you make it hurt”), or to “Blame It On The World,” a painfully poignant song for her father.

Animal is the result of Nunn’s re-ignited love affair with current electronic music, and the feeling that BERLIN could make a unique statement in the EDM [electronic dance music] milieu. “It’s still my favorite medium. I’ve loved it since I met John [Crawford, original Berlin bassist) in 1979, when he wanted to bring electronic music to America, because it wasn’t here yet,” she recalls. “What it’s morphing into is exciting me so much, I was motivated to look for songwriting partners to help me create this album.” Enter John King, one-half of award-winning producers, The Dust Brothers (Beastie Boys, Rolling Stones, Beck). When Nunn and King began writing, “[It] felt like the beginning of the album to me,” Nunn explains. “I already had the songs ‘Mom’ and ‘Stand Up,’ but there was no momentum. [John’s] sound was exactly what I was looking for… we wrote ‘Break the Chains,’ which really kick-started the work that became Animal.” Old pal, Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith, Sheryl Crow), provided another boon for the album. “He’s a big rock guy, but introduced me to a young writer named Derek Cannavo. I lost my mind!” recalls Nunn of Cannavo’s work. “We did seven songs, we went crazy. It was so intense with him that even though I was glad to be done with the record, I grieved that the project was over because it was so amazing. The writing was done so intimately and so fast, great music collaborations ARE intimate, creative and intense and hard and wonderful and exciting; everything a love relationship is.” Additional creative input came courtesy of multi-platinum writer/producer, Bryan Todd (Jordin Sparks, Kara Dioguardi, Josh Kelley, Big Time Rush, Ashley Tisdale), pioneering mixers, John Alicastro and Mike Lauri (Goo Goo Dolls, Train), and Carlton Bost, BERLIN’s guitarist (Orgy, Deadsy), who produced four tracks on the album.

Despite her many creative outlets, music, BERLIN and touring remain Nunn’s first love. Looking back, she recalls her own early musical dreams. “I remember going to a Rolling Stones concert at the Rose Bowl, and I couldn’t believe they did 2 ½ hours of songs and I knew every single one! That’s a legacy, a body of work that has mattered to people. That’s what I aspired to,” she says. “Of course, no way am I close to that body of work, but I have a number of songs that people love that much, and they come to hear Berlin over and over. I’m so grateful for that.”

Nunn, a rabid music fan, was inspired by Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” and her discovery of the LA club scene, starting with the band, X. On Animal, Nunn tips her hat to another female-fronted band with her own take on Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love.” Such bold musical choices also helped make Animal the ideal album title for Berlin’s latest collection. “The song ‘Animal’ so perfectly represented the entire album. “It’s the first tune I wrote with Derek Cannavo, and it’s an explosion of joy and ecstasy and orgasm and sex--but musically!” That primal energy is evident on every track, even the gentlest of ballads, with Nunn’s voice at the peak of its powers. “When I quit smoking at 32, everything changed. I had been smoking since I was 14, and when I stopped, my range doubled; it went higher and lower than it ever had before.”

The voice you hear is that of Synthea, calling you closer and bringing you near. Like a clarion siren, pure and clear. This Synth Pop Noir is her domain.

Vapornet's music is fresh but familiar, sexy and sophisticated. 25 highly crafted songs are now being married to film, art, fashion & product. The project's first live engagement was supporting Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Erasure) but live performances are mindfully rare.